Blizzard Trademarks 'The Dark Below' Ahead of Gamescom

A newly filed trademark application may have revealed the name of the project Blizzard plans on revealing later this month at Gamescom.

A trademark for something called The Dark Below was filed by Blizzard on August 9. As with any trademark filing, it doesn't provide us with many details to help determine what it is, although the listing on Scribd indicates this is a game, and one that includes virtual currency and items.

Last month, Blizzard teased an announcement would be coming during its Gamescom press conference on August 21. An invitation sent out to the press stated Blizzard would be "making a special announcement that's sure to capture the attention of the Heavens, Burning Hells and all the shadowed places that lie between." Based on that description and the timing, a proper reveal of the Diablo III expansion confirmed last year seems very likely. A name like The Dark Below sounds perfectly appropriate for the Diablo universe, and it matches the Diablo-sounding tease well enough.

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However, it is worth pointing out that the Dark Below is the name of something in the Warcraft universe. While it's not seen or heard of in World of Warcraft, it was talked about in a book connected to the Warcraft pen-and-paper RPG. That means Blizzard could easily disregard it and use the name for something connected to Diablo.

At the same time, it's not inconceivable that this is the next World of Warcraft expansion. The MMO may be down to 7.7 million subscribers, but that's still a substantial number of people to sell an expansion to -- and such a release could boost subscription numbers, if previous expansions are any indication. Next month will mark one year since the release of the most recent expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Seeing as players of the game have been fighting the Old Gods buried under Azeroth for over eight years, does this mean they'll soon be taking the fight to them?

Assuming this is an expansion pack for Diablo III, what would you like for it to include? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to IGN next week for all of the news out of Blizzard's press conference and Gamescom, which runs from August 21-25 in Cologne, Germany.

Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who still laments the three Diablo II accounts he lost to hackers. Share in his grief on Twitter and follow him on IGN.